When fashion and CSR meet

RCBC Bankard treated its Black Platinum MasterCard and Diamond Platinum MasterCard cardholders to an evening that celebrated fashion and social responsibility during the launch of the Rags2Riches Aranaz Collection at The Power Plant Mall in Rockwell.

The Aranaz Collection showcased eco-friendly bags creatively designed by Amina Aranaz-Alunan exclusively for Rags2Riches. These were meticulously woven by the women of Payatas using scrap fabrics and recyclable materials.

Rags2Riches is a social business enterprise that creates a diverse range of eco-ethical products utilizing scrap pieces of cloth discarded by garment factories around the Philippines. It forges partnerships with fashion designers, models, directors and entrepreneurs as it aims to establish a pattern-changing and sustainable business that values and invests in marginalized communities.

MasterCard supported the event with the official launched in the region of its corporate social responsibility program, the MasterCard Purchase with Purpose platform. For every bag purchased using a MasterCard card, MasterCard will donate $1 to the Rags2Riches Enterprise Activation Program (REAP), a community project benefiting the indigent women of Payatas.

MasterCard Purchase with Purpose is the platform for MasterCard’s social responsibility and citizenship efforts across the Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa region. It is at the heart of a drive by MasterCard to encourage responsible spending and make a difference, whether to one’s own life or someone else’s.

This also provides all cardholders a chance to give back to the community when they use their MasterCard cards by supporting key areas of focus such as empowering women, youth and education.

Kings of the night

GP Reyes and Louie Ysmael share the same birthday and a similarly intense love for the nightlife.

GP runs a very successful PR and advertising business by day where he creates sensational campaigns and lifestyle events. By night, however, he is party man at Encore and Members Only, which he co-owns along with the Tides Hotel in Boracay and Izakaya Japanese Bar in Greenbelt.

Louie is the undisputed King of the nightlife. He is the man behind the hottest nightclubs from Stargazer in the ‘70s, Louie Y’s, to Euphoria, Venezia, V-Bar, Citrus, Nuvo and of course Members Only, which he co-owns with GP.

A joint party was held at Members Only for these two good friends of mine. They made a statement at their party when they asked their guests to come in their own statement T-shirts. Johnnie Walker, 42 Below Vodka and Baileys cocktails flowed all night. DJ’s Manolet Dario and Bombi Balquiedra took turns on the decks to keep guests dancing till the morning.

(Members Only is the country’s first and only private membership bar and lounge. To learn more about membership, e-mail [email protected])

Happy traveling!

Traveling responsibly was the key message during the Mad About Travel expo, which was jointly organized by The Travel Club with the special participation of Rajah Travel Corp. at the Greenbelt 3 lobby in Makati City.

Primer Group of Companies vice president Me-Ann Santos says, “As the leading authority in travel, The Travel Club is constantly looking for ways to make everyone’s travel experience enjoyable and meaningful. Through the Mad About Travel expo, we hope to give customers a renewed appreciation for traveling while giving them valuable information not just on the best travel gear and tour packages but also how to help preserve and make the least impact on the destinations they are visiting.”

A strong advocate of responsible travel, the highly successful event also served to launch The Travel Club’s “I Travel. I Care.” campaign which encourages customers to travel responsibly by observing several guidelines, which include the use of environmentally-friendly travel gear, supporting local businesses, selecting modes of transportation that minimize carbon emission, among others.

Rajah Travel Corp. sales and marketing director Patti Escobal says, “We are united in supporting sustainable conservation efforts. We exhort travelers everywhere to be mindful of their actions wherever they may be. Simple gestures like turning off lights when not in use and reusing towels spell a huge difference towards ensuring that the world continues to become an enjoyable place to explore.”

The event featured a series of informative talks about Philippine ecotourism by Vivian Rosielle Cervantes from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (DENR-PAWB), ecological sustainability courtesy of Ayala Land chief sustainability officer Edmund Vicente, insights about packing properly by Eagle Creek brand associate Guia Abad and responsible travel by Claire Amador of Youth Trip Philippines. The two-day event also had speakers like Lulou Asia from Blue Cross, Paolo Freznosa from UP and Mon Santos from Citibank. There was also a travel photography session conducted by Mon Corpuz.

The event also showcased a host of travel products like The North Face, Sea to Summit, Jansport and Timbuk2 which were made with the environment in mind. There were also tour packages to exciting destinations at discounted rates.

A ‘Killer’ reminder

World Wide Womb (of Stephen Ku) and the Saga Events (of Robbie Carmona) bring The Killers Live in Manila on Jan. 31 at the Mall of Asia Concert Grounds.

The band came to the attention of London-based independent label Lizard King and made its way over to the UK for its first ever gigs outside of Las Vegas released a limited edition of Mr. Brightside in September 2003. The group’s subsequent appearance at New York industry fiesta CMJ in October saw a worldwide (ex-UK) deal inked with Island Records. Next came the album Sam’s Town, which featured When You Were Young and Bones. The band then released a compilation album Sawdust, which offers a mishmash of covers and collaborations. 2008 saw the much-anticipated third album Day & Age hit the shelves. The Killers were back to their best, with a strong and creative record. 2009 had the band join the New Moon soundtrack with the song “ White Demon Love Song.

The Killers Live in Manila is presented by Globe Tattoo, co presented by Lee and supported by Jim Beam, The Tides Hotel Boracay, Red Horse Beer, Encore Superclub, MCA Universal, TAG Asia and Bandmaster.com.ph with Edsa Shangri-La Hotel as the official residence.

(For ticket inquiries, call 568-6908, 727-7765 and 911-5555.

Check out www.thekillersmusic.com)